Keely Knightley's Blog, page 3

FREE KINDLE PROMOTION

“I Haven’t Lived At All” is available for free on Kindle for the next 3 days!

Grab it while you can, and please do feel free to spread the word. This is available internationally.

Click here!

I’m also running a special offer over on my store, use code 50OFF to save 50% on your order. This is available for 5 uses only.

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* Review: Live or Die- A Stroke of Good Luck by Richard L. Burns

Live or Die- A Stroke of Good Luck by Richard L. Burns

Cover Rating: ★★★☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

My Favourite Chapter: Chapter 21 – Think

Would I recommend? ★★★☆☆

“They say laugh and the world laughs with you. I badly needed to rediscover my sense of humour, relearn to laugh. To date there hadn’t been much, outside of laughing at myself.”

Available in Paperback and on Kindle from Amazon 

 

 

About

Live or Die summarizes the purpose of the book. It is a story of the alternatives between life and death and specifically refers to the third leading cause of death in this country and around the world – stroke. Every 45 seconds someone is stricken with stroke in this country, about 15 million around the world, and a 1/2 million die. The book is a story of hope and practical advice on how to handle the problem, survive and recover as a whole and better person.

Review

This isn’t a book for everyone, however if you’re looking to understand more about Stroke or looking for support either for yourself or a loved one, this may well be the book for you. With an equal balance of both fact and personal experience; this is both educational and (for some) relatable.

The voice of the author is strong, full of honesty, making it feel as though you are being spoken to rather than reading a book. As someone with very little understanding of the illness, I’m certainly glad to have read this and have nothing but the upmost respect for those who have overcome this. If that’s not a positive feeling to leave a book with, I don’t know what is.

Overall 

This is an inspiring story, with a strong voice running throughout. I would recommend this to anybody looking to learn more about this illness and gain a greater sense of understanding. For me, it was definitely an eyeopener.

* Book was sent for free in exchange for an honest review. 

*Review: Children of the Knight by Michael J. Bowler

Children of the Knight by Michael J.Bowler

Cover Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

My Favourite Chapter: Chapter 10- Is that what we’ve become?

Would I recommend? ★★★☆☆

“Arthur weaved and zigzagged through the heavy late-afternoon rush-hour traffic, grateful for the sheer number of cars to help block their pursuers.”

Available in Paperback and for Kindle from Amazon

About

According to legend, King Arthur is supposed to return when Britain needs him most. So why does a man claiming to be the once and future king suddenly appear in Los Angeles?

This charismatic young Arthur creates a new Camelot within the City of Angels to lead a crusade of unwanted kids against an adult society that discards and ignores them. Under his banner of equality, every needy child is welcome, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, or gang affiliation.

With the help of his amazing First Knight, homeless fourteen-year-old Lance, Arthur transforms this ragtag band of rejected children and teens into a well-trained army-the Children of the Knight. Through his intervention, they win the hearts and minds of the populace at large, and gain a truer understanding of themselves and their worth to society. But seeking more rights for kids pits Arthur and the children squarely against the rich, the influential, and the self-satisfied politicians who want nothing more than to maintain the status quo.

Can right truly overcome might? Arthur’s hopeful young knights are about to find out, and the City of Angels will never be the same.

Review

This is a story that is full of passion, dreams and hope for a better future; all with the assistance of the well known King Arthur. You can’t help but find yourself captured by the stories of the children in this, you need to find out what happens and you find yourself rooting for them every step of the way. This is the aspect of the entire story that held my interest and made a few points that I found off-putting more than forgivable.

Personally, I found the character of King Arthur more than a little annoying, and whilst I can see why the use of old english language was prominent, I found it distracted from the dialogue itself and it’s something I struggled to get my head around. As this language leaked into the speech of the children, it became easier to follow it, but this leads to my next qualm.

There are many things that I’m willing to believe in a story, a horse being ridden by an old King through the streets of L.A is something I’m willing to accept, but I found myself a little annoyed by how easily these children were ‘collected’ and how only one turned back to old habits. With children who have experienced such damaging pasts, it’s hard to get your head around how one man could become greater than their struggles. I just can’t imagine it being that easy to ‘rescue’ people from their lives and pasts, at least not in the time span that was portrayed. Then perhaps, that’s simply me looking into this far too much.

That aside, you have to admire the sincerity behind every word. At times I found there was too much happening, too much to follow without needing a regular break to align the story in your own head, but this was all made bearable by the heart in this story. You’re rooting for the characters every step of the way, you’re hoping that one day an uprising like this is possible, you’re hoping that battles like these really are ones that can be fought and won.

Overall

Although I found myself with mixed feelings about this book, I really would recommend that you give it a try for yourself. It has all the ingredients for a great story; the mixture of reality and myth, a meeting of hearts all centered around the dark sides of society that, for some, is all that is known. This really is a captivating story.

* Book was sent for free in exchange for an honest review. 

Review: Children of the Knight by Michael J. Bowler

Children of the Knight by Michael J.Bowler

Cover Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆

My Favourite Chapter: Chapter 10- Is that what we’ve become?

Would I recommend? ★★★☆☆

“Arthur weaved and zigzagged through the heavy late-afternoon rush-hour traffic, grateful for the sheer number of cars to help block their pursuers.”

Available in Paperback and for Kindle from Amazon

About

According to legend, King Arthur is supposed to return when Britain needs him most. So why does a man claiming to be the once and future king suddenly appear in Los Angeles?

This charismatic young Arthur creates a new Camelot within the City of Angels to lead a crusade of unwanted kids against an adult society that discards and ignores them. Under his banner of equality, every needy child is welcome, regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, or gang affiliation.

With the help of his amazing First Knight, homeless fourteen-year-old Lance, Arthur transforms this ragtag band of rejected children and teens into a well-trained army-the Children of the Knight. Through his intervention, they win the hearts and minds of the populace at large, and gain a truer understanding of themselves and their worth to society. But seeking more rights for kids pits Arthur and the children squarely against the rich, the influential, and the self-satisfied politicians who want nothing more than to maintain the status quo.

Can right truly overcome might? Arthur’s hopeful young knights are about to find out, and the City of Angels will never be the same.

Review

This is a story that is full of passion, dreams and hope for a better future; all with the assistance of the well known King Arthur. You can’t help but find yourself captured by the stories of the children in this, you need to find out what happens and you find yourself rooting for them every step of the way. This is the aspect of the entire story that held my interest and made a few points that I found off-putting more than forgivable.

Personally, I found the character of King Arthur more than a little annoying, and whilst I can see why the use of old english language was prominent, I found it distracted from the dialogue itself and it’s something I struggled to get my head around. As this language leaked into the speech of the children, it became easier to follow it, but this leads to my next qualm.

There are many things that I’m willing to believe in a story, a horse being ridden by an old King through the streets of L.A is something I’m willing to accept, but I found myself a little annoyed by how easily these children were ‘collected’ and how only one turned back to old habits. With children who have experienced such damaging pasts, it’s hard to get your head around how one man could become greater than their struggles. I just can’t imagine it being that easy to ‘rescue’ people from their lives and pasts, at least not in the time span that was portrayed. Then perhaps, that’s simply me looking into this far too much.

That aside, you have to admire the sincerity behind every word. At times I found there was too much happening, too much to follow without needing a regular break to align the story in your own head, but this was all made bearable by the heart in this story. You’re rooting for the characters every step of the way, you’re hoping that one day an uprising like this is possible, you’re hoping that battles like these really are ones that can be fought and won.

Overall

Although I found myself with mixed feelings about this book, I really would recommend that you give it a try for yourself. It has all the ingredients for a great story; the mixture of reality and myth, a meeting of hearts all centered around the dark sides of society that, for some, is all that is known. This really is a captivating story.

* Book was sent for free in exchange for an honest review. 

Local Press

Just a small something that was featured in the local news magazine!

I’ve been quiet

Hi all!

I just thought it had been a while since I’ve made a new post, so here we go! I don’t have an awful lot to fill you all in on, if I’m honest I think any previous exhaustion I had been fighting off over the past few months (working full time AND starting a business to release a book, with no experience- phew) has finally caught up with me. I’ve been trying to remain active in between work, but you know when your brain just doesn’t co-operate? That’s kind of been happening, a lot. So to cut a long story short, I literally have no idea how I’ve spent the past few days.

For now, I’ve had to close submission for reviews as I have a bit of a waiting list. I am aiming at a book a week, but as this week has proved to me, it’s not always possible. I want to be able to give a thorough and honest review, not just one for the sake of it. Authors have spent time and money sending their work out to me, it’s only fair if I invest a good amount of time and attention into reading their work. Please accept this as an advanced apology for any delays that may occur!

(You can read my posted reviews here)

I do know that I have found myself excited at the prospect of creating another book (in the future, not any time soon- disclaimer!) Writing is the most enjoyable part of the entire process, it is why I’m doing this after all, and I honestly can’t wait until I’m back into the habit of writing organically (cliché.) However, despite being completely battered and exhausted from the rest of the process; I really have enjoyed seeing, guiding and making a book happen. From the first scrappy ideas through to the finished product- I can already visualise the way I would like the front cover of the next book to be.

Perhaps one day I’ll learn to sit back and look at a finished product with pride, but that day isn’t today and all I can think about is how I can improve the entire process and get a better end result.

I know in the month of September I should have a couple of articles to share with you featuring myself and/or “I Haven’t Lived At All,” but for the time being I think I need to take a step back, get refreshed and then come back ready to push this book forward even more.

Sometimes, I have to remind myself why this book is a thing. It really started out as a test run for myself, to see if I could really make it happen. I also threw myself into it, straight after leaving University because I refused to let myself sit around and forget why it was I had chosen to leave in the first place. I had very little expectations, it really was purely for myself, and already reception has been above and beyond anything I could have ever expected. When I remember all of that, I realise that I’ve already achieved far more than I set out to do.

I keep saying this, but it really is only because of the support I’ve been shown. You being interested about this book, sharing it and talking to me about it just gives me more of a reason to carry on talking about it myself. Thank you seems a little weak, but that really is all I can say.

Wow, that went off on a tangent. Already my head feels a little clearer, like I’m ready to go make my next cup of coffee and finally get out of my pyjamas (got to love a bank holiday!)

I love you, blog. 

As always, you can follow me on facebook and twitter.

A list of places to purchase “I Haven’t Lived At All” (kindle and paperback) can be found here

If you have already purchased and had a read of the book, I would love it if you could leave a rating/review over on Goodreads and Amazon! 

-E

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* Review: Penelope Pan by K.B Plum

Penelope Pan by K.B Plum

Cover Rating: ★★★★☆

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

My Favourite Chapter: Chapter 21

Would I recommend? ★★★☆☆

“Mobilizing these poor, wounded creatures into a willing offensive was out of the question. Yet, there was no other solution. It was either convince them to take up arms…At the same time, Penelope recognized the implausability of expecting the handicapped and elderly to overcome Hook, the Red Guards, the Sadists and no doubt every outlaw in the dome.”

 

Available on Kindle from Amazon 

About

An award-winning journalist in her other life, K.B. Plum takes a wild and naughty turn to steamy satire in Penelope Pan, an irreverent take-off on J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. In her first attempt at erotica, Plum ventures into heretofore forbidden territory, applying her long experience as a reporter to topics sure to titillate, amuse and horrify.

Where Peter Pan was meant to appeal to youngsters, Penelope Pan is meant to escort adults into a world of lurid sex, fantastical adventure, and outrageous comedy. The book is also a testament to how a young woman of breathtaking beauty and limitless optimism can lure to the surface the “little boy living inside the grown man.” True, Penelope’s methods are anything but PG rated.

She is, after all, operating in Netherland, a universe both dark and magical, a place where rabbits ride bicycles on silver tightropes and a murderous pirate, Simon Hook, is legendary for stripping men of their testicles. Central to the story is Hook’s Blood Sun Extravaganza, an Olympics of Erotica that features acts in which virgins are deflowered, slaves indulge in sexual domination, and sadists lay the groundwork for the intimate pairing of a handicapped man and woman.

Add to all the licentiousness and ribald comedy, a writer/hero taken captive by Hook and made to suffer all manner of physical abuse while at the same time acquiring sexual fulfillment from his Goddess of Inspiration, a succulent maiden able to trigger his orgasms via titillating imagery she speaks from afar. There are as well, fairies, horny pirates, gay exhibitionists, torture devices, rabid pit bulls, and a grizzly let loose on a damsel chained to a Witch’s Cradle.

What does it all lead up to? The resurrection of a whole man and the reality of a woman most men can only dream about.

Strong adult content includes feminine domination and male submission, oral sex, anal sex, intercourse, animal husbandry, homosexuality, bondage, masturbation, audience sex, kinky relationships, whippings, torture, sadism, and Erotic Stage Productions.

Review

I have so much to say about this book, and I don’t really know where to begin. Firstly, I’ll start by saying that I really didn’t know what to expect when reading this book, and when I got started it was so far beyond anything I may have thought. This is certainly a book that can be ‘read’ in many different ways, and for me, beyond the sex and the grown-up fairytale elements; I couldn’t help but be slapped in the face about how the two main focuses appeared to be the sexual pleasure of the men within the book, and the disgusting treatment of women in order to appease said pleasures.

I could write an essay on this book, and how poignant the character of Penelope is, but this is a review and not an analysis so perhaps I’ll save that for something different.

The only thing I could relate this to (and even then- at a push) is ‘Perfume’ by Patrick Süskind. If you know the book, then you’ll understand what I mean about the tone of the book, and the behaviour being presented as ordinary. This same tone is found within ‘Penelope Pan,’ and it makes for an uneasy read. I love an uneasy read, personally.

I don’t know if I was expecting a book that’s simply put a naughty twist on Peter Pan, but that isn’t what this is. (Which I’m glad for, I’ve avoided the 50 shades hype for a reason.)

There’s so much substance to this book, whether this is on purpose or not I don’t know; and it really doesn’t matter. It’s incredibly well-written, the story-line is well thought out and I couldn’t put the book down because I just needed to know how it ended.

I don’t know if ‘pleasantly surprised’ is the right phrase to use, because the book is far from pleasant. I thoroughly enjoyed, and it’s not very often that a writer can balance out darkness with reasons as well as Plum has with this.

Overall 

I remain slightly torn on my overall opinion, and this is mostly because I’m still not quite sure what the intention of the book is. Ordinarily, this doesn’t matter, but it sits uneasy with me that I’m still unsure. I’m not too sure who the audience would be for this book, and that ties in with my original point. It is published as Erotic Fiction, but that’s not how I read it. That’s a good thing, in the sense that it contains that substance that it can be read in a different way. However, it does make recommending it to people a little hard. I can think of only one person who will enjoy this, perhaps. I will be passing it on to her so I can get her opinion too.

It’s by no means an easy read, and there should be some sort of ‘disturbing content’ warning. Having said that, I enjoyed it. And I don’t know what that says about me.

* Book was sent for free in exchange for an honest review. 

* Review: The Birr Elixir- Book 1 (The Legend of the Gamesmen) by Jo Sparkes

The Birr Elixir- Book 1 (The Legend of the Gamesmen) by Jo Sparkes

Cover Rating: ★★★☆☆

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆

My Favourite Chapter: Chapter 6

Would I recommend? ★★★★☆

“She did take it, weighing it carefully, touching the wax sealed stopped. He would swear she was checking to see if it was real, except he knew she’d never seen Myrrcleft in her life. He offered the sleeping vial, and still she resisted.” 

 

Available to purchase from Amazon

Preview the first 20 pages.

About

When a young apprentice makes a mysterious elixir from a recipe in an old book, she’s suddenly the talisman for a daring Gamesman – and the weapon in the conspiracy against a prince.

Review

It’s been a while since I’ve found myself absorbed in a good fantasy book, but this one broke that dry spell. I was a bit dubious at first as I didn’t really see where the story was going, however when the main plot line was introduced I couldn’t put the book down.

I would have liked to find out more about the individual characters/groups of people; there was a lack of backstory that made it really hard for me to actually care about the characters. This is the first book in a series though, so it’s possible that there is more of this as you continue reading.

Whilst somewhat predictable within the latest trend of fantasy stories, the main protagonist is a quiet, unassuming, young girl. Although this type of character seems to annoy me, I developed a fondness for this girl as there wasn’t an ounce of self-pitying and instead a quiet intelligence that the reader could see but she could not.

The story, linked together by a focus on a sport, acted as an important way in which the reader can develop a greater understanding of the characters as well as becoming the premise on which the story is created. As stated before, I wanted to spend more time with the character themselves so I would have sacrificed some ‘play time’ for that, but you cannot doubt the importance of the sport and I can only imagine this continues as the story goes on.

Overall

This is a light-hearted, easy to read and imaginative fantasy story that I would highly recommend to young teenagers. I’ll certainly be keeping my eye on the progression of this series!

* Book was sent for free in exchange for an honest review. 

Where to buy “I Haven’t Lived At All”

The book is available on Amazon worldwide, but here are just a few quick links for you!

Amazon (US)

Amazon (UK)

Waterstones

Kindle Copy(US)

Kindle Copy (UK)

You can also buy merchandise in the Evelyn Knightley Store

Check out reviews over on Goodreads

-E

x

Happy Release Day!!

Hi All!!

Wow, the day is finally here! As if you’ve not seen enough of me counting down the days to the official release day of “I Haven’t Lived At All,” I thought it would be kind of me to remind you that TODAY IS THE DAY!!

I’m now sat feeling 100% positive that there’s a huge amount I’ve forgotten, but it’s too late now so if I have I’m sure I shall have to deal with it later :/

I just want to say a massive thank you to everybody for all of the support you’ve shown. Considering the book is only officially released today, the response has been above and beyond what I expected for it (and I really hope that’s a good sign!)

Now for a small list of places you can order “I Haven’t Lived At All,”

Amazon (UK)

Amazon (US)

Waterstones

Kindle Copy

I truly believe that the best way to help spread the word of “I Haven’t Lived At All” is by recommendation and word of mouth, so please leave reviews and/or ratings on Amazon, Waterstones, or wherever else you feel like. If you have a Goodreads account, you can do the same over there and add it to your lists as well!

My BigCartel store is still up and running. You can still purchase the book, posters and other such things from there if you wish! If there’s anything else you’d like to see in the store (as I can now put a bit more attention in to that) then please do let me know!

It would be great if you could help tweet/facebook/blog about it throughout today and help me make the release day that little bit more special.

I really couldn’t do any of this without your support, I owe you all an eternity of thanks.

On that note, I would like to leave you with this song (it features in the soundtrack to the book,) it feels really quite significant in regards to what this book means to me.

I can’t wait to hear what you all think of this book, and I can’t wait to be able to say “Oh, me? I’ve released a book.” That’s something I’ve always dreamed of saying but never thought it would be an actual, real sentence! Pretty cool.

Speak soon!

- E

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